


Let go

by Bugheadidiocy



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, New Year's Eve, Riverdale, sweetvee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 22:25:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15010757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugheadidiocy/pseuds/Bugheadidiocy
Summary: It was new year's eve and Veronica Lodge was typing. She plucked in her earphones and let the music block out the voices. Only if it enough to block the challenge that slid into the bar next to her.





	Let go

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "this is sad" "this is your life?" "I'm aware, cupcake"

Veronica Lodge was typing. The world outside the bar stool was filed with the cheers and celebrations to welcome the newest year, just like Veronica Lodge’s inbox was filled with unanswered emails due before midnight. So with soothing piano playing through her earphones placating her ears over the loud chatters around the bar, black rimmed Dior sitting on her nose and a glass of Sangría sitting next to her MacBook, Veronica Lodge was typing. 

People occupied the seats beside her and went, but Veronica was sat in the same stool for two hours now, when a tap on her shoulder made her break contact with the digital screen and quickly discard her earphones to over her shoulder, only to find no one there.

“This is sad” a voice sighed from her back

Veronica jerked her head towards the source of the voice. He was sat on the stool beside hers, leaning forward onto the bar counter while casually sipping on his drink and scrunching up his nose at the strong taste.

“pardon?” Veronica asked.

The leather chad man turned his head to look towards her and put down his drink.

“I said 'this is sad’” he repeated.

“I heard that, but what is sad?”

“This” he nodded towards her MacBook. “The world is out partying and a beautiful Latina like you is giving all her attention to her stupid Gmail. This is the very definition of sadness”

“This isn't sad” Veronica started furious. “I'm doing this because I want to.” Lies. “Actual sadness is what you're doing. While the world is out partying, you're here at the bar trying to pick up a girl to kiss at midnight.” She scoffs, all her manners wearing off quicker that she thought they would.

“You’re desperate and are desperately trying to hide your desperation with charm.”

The tall man watches Veronica sass as he casually sips his drink.

“I have charm now?” He asks cockily.

“What? No- that's….that's not what I meant” she stammered, surprised that her famous way of retaliation faded onto him.

“Also, however do you know that I'm Spanish? Have you been stalking me or something?”

“You're obvious” he smirked and nodded towards her choice of drink. “A raven haired olive drinking a sangría. It isn't hard to guess.”

Veronica blinked repeatedly trying to comprehend the boy that was sitting in front of her.

He quickly gulped down his drink and again scrunched up his nose.

“Why do you take it so strong if you can't handle the taste” Ronnie asked.

“Because” he reached for her glass of fruity alcohol and bought it front of his face while gently stirring the glass and watched the drink move with it. “babies like this one here, won't get you drunk enough to go rogue”

Veronica rolled her eyes and snatched her drink from his hands and dragged a sip from it elegantly.

She gulped down her drink with a satisfied smirk on her face and clinked her glass into the air. 

The greasy haired man laughed at her actions and waved the bartender over.

“Could you get the raven princess the real stuff? On me.”

He ordered, not once breaking his eyes away from Veronica's face. A sinful smile plastered on his lips.

“Sure sir”

He broke his visual contact and let his head fall on his shoulder blade to look up at the bartender, muttering a coy 'thank you’ completed with a charming smile.

“So you go for the classics when it comes to girls, huh?” Veronica taunted referring to his choice of buying a girl a drink as an act of chivalry.

“This? Oh no. Sweet Pea doesn't roll with the boring overused tricks. This one undoubtedly leaves you with an added drink bill and no girl.” He scoffs.

“Oh thank god! I was starting to wonder about how could I possibly decline a person named Sweet Pea….. sweetly.” Veronica mock pouts.

The bartender chirpily arrives and places the ordered Rum in between two on them and walked away after wishing an 'enjoy’.

“This drink is going to change your night” Sweet Pea said as he slid the drink towards the girl completely ignoring her comment about his name.

“I doubt that”

“Try for yourself, then” he encouraged.

Accepting a drink from a weirdly named man covered in leather from toe to tip, with an obnoxious snake ink on his neck and an undeniable black eye, the red signals were blaring. Veronica Lodge was skeptical.

“Go on. I swear I didn't drug it.” Sweet Pea answered good naturally.

Noticing the look her the Latina’s face he added “Or wait, is this too strong for you? You afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it and pass out I front of a gangster looking low-life?

You know what, you're right, you should just leave it” he reached for the glass “It was a stupid ide-”

But he was cut short by perfectly manicured, black painted nails snatching the drink from his hand for the second time that night.

He watched in amusement as Veronica gulped down the drink in one go and cringed hard at it's taste.

"Never underestimate Veronica Lodge” she sassed.

Sweet Pea sat there wide eyed, his expression of pure bafflement and knowing. He turned around and called the bartender for a refill.

He moved back around to face a confident looking Lodge and smirked.

“Care for a drink with me, Miss Lodge?”

Neither Veronica nor her companion could now count the drinks they have had. As the alcohol worked and sanity faded, Veronica's shoulders dropped, her posture fell, and her lips couldn't stop babbling without bursting into a fit of giggles.

They both had turned around into their stools and felt accustomed to comment quietly on the people present in the bar. Something a sober Veronica would never even think of doing.

_ “Ohh no hate, but  _ **_where_ ** _ did she buy that dress from? Hideous Vuitton?” _

_ “Um, look at that hair scarcity over there, he tots think he has a chance with that blonde. She looks like she could kiss Thanos at this point but not him.” _

_ “Uggh, only if you didn't get a haircut, Manu Rios’ doppelganger!” _

_ “They're so gonna get it tonight” _

Veronica was recovering from her latest laughter fit when Sweet Pea gently spoke up.

“I didn't intend on picking you up as a new year's kiss, you know”

Veronica calmed down and tilted her head to look at him to where he was leaning on his elbows on the bar counter.

“Oh. So you're generous that way? Buying everyone drinks and stuff?”

“Quite the opposite actually. I'm a bit of a miser. But you, Veronica Lodge, are a completely different case”

Veronica raised her eyebrow in question.

“You were at a bar, on New year's eve and were replying to  _ emails _ out of everything you could be doing. That's just unfair for anyone to spend their new year as”

He dropped his voice to a bare whisper as he moved closer to her ear. 

“especially for someone like you, so incredibly hot and fun when they're drunk”

Veronica's breath caught in her throat. Sure she has had people bowing in her flattery and this was nothing out of the ordinary but something about his lips being so close to her skin and his breath tickling the baby hair near her ear. The smell of strong alcohol and cheap body spray and his previously ugly looking tattoo in her direct view aroused her.

He smoothly moved back to sit straight in his stool, leaving Veronica with a dumbfounded expression.

“I was bored, I bought you drinks and make you fun and now I'm not. I was doing myself a favor.” He shrugged smirking as he casually sipped his drink. He knew what he was doing.

Veronica gulped and straighten herself from her previous leaning position. Gathered her thoughts and took a sip of her drink to hydrate her dry mouth again.

“Good” she turned around to face the counter too. “because I don't do one night stands and it's not like you could handle my lifestyle anyway”

“Your  _ lifestyle _ ?” he narrowed his eyes.

“Yup. The Lodge lifestyle” she prided. “From waking up in the Royal Opulence to the Mahogany furnished offices, and a nice warm cup of Ethiopian Harrar coffee on call, luxurious cruises across Europe, magazine photoshoots, closets filled with Gucci and Dior. House parties flooded with finest glasses of Perrier- Jouët, personal pools and jacuzzis, private vacation homes and almost ten people at your service with a snap of fingers ready to do anything you ask them to. Basically a lifestyle of luxury and power”

“This is your life?”

Veronica smirked. She always got a kick out of people's envy when it came to her privileges.

“I'm aware, cupcake”

“I pity you even more now” Sweet Pea scoffed.

Veronica almost choked on her drink. Wide eyed she turned to Sweet pea

“Ex-excuse me?”

“I said you need to get a better life. Jeez, and an appointment from an ENT doctor too please.” he side eyed the Lodge in mockry and continued on with his casual persona.

“No I don't!”

Veronica Lodge was now offended.

“I have everything people dream of. I have everything people work their asses off to achieve.” She stated before her face lit up in realisation. “Ohhh, you're just saying that to placate yourself. Right! Go ahead. I won't stop you.“

Sweet pea fired back without even looking at her as he held his glass from his middle finger and thumb.

“If you did had everything people dream of, you wouldn't be here alone in a local bar, typing a bunch of nuisance on New Year's Eve.”

Veronica opened her mouth to protest but couldn't form any worlds.

Sweet Pea shook his head as he put down his drink. He turned to face the struggling lady in front of him.

“Riddle me this, what was the last crazy thing you did and when?”

“Oh!” She lightens up “Just last weekend, I was on a shopping spre--”

“Aside from exhausting your credit card, babe.” Sweet pea deadpanned only to be met with silence.

“Thought so. Next question, when was the last time you danced in the rain,  _ not _ the romantic ball like some Disney crap, but just jumping and laughing in the rain all by yourself?”

Silence.

“When was the last time you lounged around your sofa in you pyjamas all day stuffing your mouth with chips while watching cartoons? Or sang at the top of your lungs until someone came and threw something at you to get you to shut up.”

Silence.

“Have you ever slept under stars and counted them? Or tried to shape the clouds?”

Veronica shook her head no. 

“Ever cooked yourself a meal and gagged at how disgusting it actually was and laughed about it?”

Again no. 

“Every cried uglily? Like just without a care about your makeup or anything else, just snottily sobbing?”

She scrunched up her face in disgust and whispered an 'eww’ but the answer was still no.

Sweet Pea dipped his head to look her straight in the eye. 

“Did you ever let go and did something spontaneous? Ever stopped being daddy’s little princess and went rogue?” 

Veronica stilled at the last one. She looked down at the pearls around her neck that her dad sent her to make up for missing new year yet again and making up for the lost time. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. 

“All this is philosophical bullshit” she straightened up detaching herself from Sweet Pea’s touch. 

“It all sounds good in words but it's only and only money that a person truly needs to survive. Well beside oxygen and water and minimal food obviously. ” She stated finishing her drink. 

Sweet Pea smiled and finished his own. 

“Agreed. Money  _ is _ what a person needs to survive. However, it's these carefree moments a person  _ craves  _ and so do you.”

Veronica scoffs at him. He quickly paid for the both of them and stood up. 

“Get up, let's go.” he offered his hand for her to take. 

“Where?” She asked confused. 

“I don't let go easily without proving my point” he smirked. 

  
  
  


“So this is what you meant when you said that we're not going to drunk drive!” Veronica whisper-yelled, angry at her drunk giggling company. 

“I'm not driving! And neither are you! I kept my promise” he reasoned.

“THIS IS WORSE! You're going to get us arrested!”

“Shhh! There he comes!”

“Wha- where?” She tried to look around when a large hand pressed itself on the back of her head and pushed her down to duck.

Sweet pea has snuck both of them into the seats of the third one from the brand new lined up MINI Coopers on the top of a car carrier. They were currently hiding to protect themselves from getting noticed by the driver.

The truck roared to life and started moving. After a few moments Sweet Pea emerged from in between the seats laughing maniacally. Veronica got up and huffed as she sat on the seat.

“Yeah yeah, we're here, you're drunk, my hair are ruined.That's how you prove your point?”

Sweet Pea stopped laughing and asked her to stand up.

“Why?”

“Just do it” She stood up reluctantly.

“Now spread your arms out like Rose Dawson”

“I am **_not_** doing that! You realise how pathetic that is!?”

“Veronica Lodge! Would you please let me prove my point.”  

She huffed and did as told.

“Look Jack! I'm flying” she mocked excitement causing Sweet Pea to chuckle.

“Now close your eyes” he instructed.

“Sweet Pea, this is getting more and more ridiculous every sec-”

“Just do it Veronica!” And she did, she closed her eyes and let the wind swoosh by her face, when the truck went over a bump and she stumbled.

But didn't fall. She felt a gentle pair of arms circle around her waist holding her in place. But she didn't open her eyes. Instead she just pressed herself into his chest. She let her hair fly and the chill December wind slap her face and give her goosebumps. Not caring after a long time.

She heard the fireworks go off. It was midnight. But she didn't open her eyes.

“You got what you craved for, Ron. Let go.” he whispered into her hair. She now opened her eyes and put down her hands behind her neck and unclipped her necklace.

She looked at the pearls with wist and then smiled. Sweet Pea’s eyes followed her actions in amusement and laughed loudly as she threw the pearls off of the car and turned to look at him.

Veronica Lodge was screaming. She was hollering at the top of her lungs, and so was Sweet Pea.

Call it the alcohol or the stupidity of it all. But Veronica Lodge never felt more alive.

“I suppose I proved my point alright!” Sweet Pea shouting over the wind.

Veronica just turned around and closed her eyes again. Her MacBook and emails long forgotten on the front seat of the car. And she was shouting again.

Yes, yes he did prove his point alright.


End file.
